This
November 2017 auction of
American Paintings at Christie's New York includes a large and
excellent group of works by Thomas Moran and good examples by Frederic
Church, Albert Bierstadt, Norman Rockwell and Florinne Stettheimer.

Lot 29 is a very good oil on canvas by Thomas Moran (1837-1926)
entitled "Canon of the Virgin River." It measures 20 by 30 inches
and was painted in 1909.

The catalogue entry provides the following commentary:

"Thomas
Moran was and continues to be celebrated as the visual architect of the
dramatic Western panorama, which captured the imagination of
turn-of-the-century America and was integral to the creation of the
U.S. National Parks. Canyon of
the Virgin River manifests
the profound veneration and wonder that Moran harbored for the
unmatched topography of the Southwest. Here he presents a romantic and
inspirational vision in an awe-inspiring vista that captures the unique
character and grandeur of this area of the country.

"Moran first visited the Southwest, predominantly Utah, and eventually
Arizona and the Grand Canyon, in 1873 as a member of Major John Wesley
Powell's geographic surveying expedition. "Four years earlier Powell
had captured the nation's attention when he led a small group of men in
custom-crafted boats through the white water of the Colorado River.”
(N.K. Anderson, et al., Thomas Moran, exhibition catalogue,
Washington, D.C., 1997, p. 358) The explorer’s stories of the dramatic
landscape instantly captured Moran’s attention, undoubtedly stimulating
thoughts of the endless possibilities of such a place at the hands of
one of the country’s foremost landscape painters, and Moran soon
accepted an invitation to join a subsequent excursion. After travelling
by rail to Green River, Wyoming, and onwards to the Salt Lake City,
Utah, area, Moran set out overland with Justin E. Colburn, a newspaper
correspondent who would write of the vast lands and inhospitable
environment. The pair travelled south, along the front of the
mountains, periodically taking side trips into the wilderness, both
finding its unique landforms intensely stimulating. Colburn later
reported, "Nature's work in this ca˝on country is on the most
magnificent scale. The plains are wide, the mountains high, and the
walls of perpendicular cliffs hemming it in unbroken, and for many
miles altogether impassable. The gorges are deep, and the color
intense. There is a prodigality of everything but water, and the
vegetable and animal life which cannot subsist without it.” (as quoted
in Thomas Moran, 1997, p. 364)

"Eventually, in Southern Utah, the pair met the Rio Virgin River, south
of Toquerville, and headed East into the numerous wonderful canyons of
the area known today as Zion National Park. Making note of the
spectacular formations all around them, they travelled through the deep
canyons, continuing northeast before eventually turning southeast and
arriving in Kanab, Major Powell’s headquarters. After resting for
several days and preparing for future excursions, Moran, Colburn,
Powell’s topographical aide, Professor Almon Harris Thompson, and
photographer John K. Hillers set out on the Rockville Trail back in the
direction of Zion. Now approaching the high plateau, the group
eventually arrived at the brink of Pa-ru-nu-weap or Roaring Water,
Canyon, well above the east fork of the Virgin River, likely the
location featured in the present work. Later describing the scene as in
the painting, Powell reported, “Below us stretching to the south, until
the world is lost in blue haze, is a painted desert; not a desert
plain, but a desert of rocks, cut by deep gorges and relieved by
towering cliffs and pinnacled rocks--naked rocks, brilliant in the
sunlight.” (as quoted in T. Wilkins, Thomas Moran: Artist of the
Mountains, Norman, Oklahoma, 1966, p. 122) After climbing to a
still higher vantage point, Moran made at least one sketch, which he
reported in letters sent back to his wife, and committed the site to
memory, to serve as material for future, finished compositions executed
in his East Coast studio.

"In Canyon of the Virgin River, Moran
masterfully captures the majesty and visual splendor of the place and
conveys the awe and wonder that these natural formations evoke. He
mesmerizes the viewer, presenting a vast expanse bisected by a deep
jagged cut in the earth. Throughout, there is a dramatic play of light
and shadow on these enchanted lands that is heightened by Moran’s
celebrated ability to capture the various colors and textures that
characterize the canyons of the Southwest. As with his most celebrated
depictions of the area, Moran takes as his vantage point a high
overlook, underscoring the vastness and seemingly endless depth of the
canyon, which is further underscored by a left-hand turn at the back of
the formation that obscures the viewer’s view. A small silver waterfall
visible in the distance, a tributary to the Colorado, is dwarfed by the
overwhelming largess of the landscape, achieving the same effect
employed with human figures by numerous member of the Hudson River
School. In Canyon of the Virgin River, however, there is no sign
of human presence. Moran's daughter Ruth recalled: "To him it was all
grandeur, beauty, color and light--nothing of man at all but nature,
virgin, unspoiled and lovely." (as quoted in C. Clark, Thomas
Moran: Watercolors of the American West, Austin, Texas, 1980, p. 21)

"Featuring such celebrated characteristics, Canyon of the Virgin River is
representative of Moran’s mature style and of the artist at the height
of his abilities. Moran, who had studied in Europe, began painting at a
time when John Ruskin’s strict theories mandating adherence to
transcribing nature with exactitude were being championed. However, by
the time he created the present work, even after having travelled West
under the auspices of precise geologic transcription, it is evident
that he was far more interested in capturing and conveying the
awe-inspiring effect of the landscape than realistic exactitude.
In Canyon of the Virgin River, as in all his best Grand Canyon
works, Moran integrates a true understanding of the mood of this unique
place and its sublime beauty. This tactic was noted by contemporary
observers, "Mr. Moran had the emotional side of his nature well under
control. When others hurried from place to place, lest some new view
escape their attention, he sat on a convenient rock near the brink and
gazed silently into space, watching the shadows come and go and
absorbing the subtle transformation caused by the always changing
sunlight...He sketched scarcely at all, contenting himself with pencil
memoranda of a few rock forms, and making no color notes whatsoever. He
depended upon keen powers of observation and a well-trained memory for
rich tones which perhaps a year later were to reappear on canvas, true
to nature and likewise true to the interpretive touch of genius."
(Thomas Moran: Artist of the Mountains, p. 217)

"Both Moran’s talents as an artist, including his ability as a painter
and his intense commitment to his subject, were exceptionally well
matched for the wonderful subjects of the American Southwest. This vast
and poetic landscape presented Moran with an opportunity to convey his
adoration and reverence for the region and in so doing secure a name
for himself within the pantheon of American painters. Canyon of
the Virgin Riverfeatures all the characteristics of Moran’s most
successful paintings, while also representing a rare portrayal of a
unique locale. When first executed, such paintings conveyed the
grandeur of the entire West to a ravenous American public, capturing
their imagination and largely influencing their conception of the area.
Today, these paintings arouse in their viewers a romantic conception of
the history of our country, while continuing to capture with intense
emotion our great admiration for its unique and magical lands."

The lot has an
estimate of $1,000,000 to $1,500,000. It sold for $2,412,500including
the buyer's premium as do all results mentioned in this article.

Lot
28 is a watercolor, goache and pencil on paper by Moran of "Castle
Geyser, Yellowstone." It measures 9 1/4 by 13 1/4 inches and was
painted in 1873.

The catalogue entry provides the following commentary:

"The
unique geological formations of the Yellowstone region, and especially
those of the Firehole River area, captivated American audiences during
the latter half of the 19th century. Seizing on fascination with this
mysterious faraway place, Thomas Moran wholly committed himself to
recreating literally and artistically their uniqueness, at a degree
that would not only establish the painter as one of the most popular of
his generation, but also lead to the area’s permanent preservation in
the form of Yellowstone National Park. Castle Geyser,
Yellowstone is
a characteristic example of Moran’s best exploration of the subject,
with exquisite detail, powerful color variation and dramatic
atmospheric effect.

"Images such as the present work were eagerly consumed by American
patrons upon Moran’s return from his 1871 trip to Yellowstone. In
addition to commissions by the country’s most enterprising businessmen,
likely the original purpose of the present work, these works were
reproduced and distributed more broadly to a mass audience. The most
notable of these series was the stunning 15-part folio of
chromolithograph reproductions commissioned by and created under the
supervision of publisher Louis Prang in 1876. “Louis Prang was an
aggressive and successful entrepreneur who built an enormous
lithographic business. His first successful chromos reproduced
paintings of sentimental and historic interest, but by 1873 he was
anxious to undertake an ambitious project involving the increasingly
popular American West. With this intention he tried to commission
Thomas Moran to paint '12 or more water color pictures of the
Yellowstone country.' Moran collaborated with Prang on the selection of
subjects, sketching suggested designs in the margins of his letters,
asking 'Shall I give you a geyser? The most pictorial one is the
'Castle,' but the 'Giant' is the largest.' As a lithographer,
experienced in the printing trade, Moran knew well how Prang's artists
and printers would use his watercolors for making chromolithographs.
His highly finished watercolors, with distinct outlines and delicate
but clear colors, suited their methods of reproduction, and Moran did
not change his style for this commission. In all, he made twenty-four
paintings for Prang, of which the printer used fifteen for The
Yellowstone National Park, and the Mountain Regions of Portions of
Idaho, Nevada, Colorado and Utah, published in 1876 with text by F.V.
Hayden." (C. Clark, Thomas Moran: Watercolors of the American
West, Austin, Texas, 1980, pp. 44-45)

"Accompanying the reproductions of Moran’s work were a series of maps
related to the expedition, together with Ferdinand Hayden’s recordings
of the unique geology of the area. Beyond Moran’s own interest in the
view seen in Castle Geyser, with a strikingly similar version to
the present work featured prominently in the portfolio, Hayden
dedicated considerable prose to the scene. Hayden’s words uniquely
build on the intensity of Moran’s visual representation, further
transporting the viewer to this remarkable natural wonder: “The scene
as we look out upon it on a cool frosty morning surpasses description.
All about us rise columns of steam mingled with numerous fountain jets.
The delicate wreaths of steam extend far up into the heavens…Among the
great geysers the “Castle,” represented in the picture, plays an
important part…The eruption commences with a succession of jets of
water and steam, which reach a height of two hundred feet….The noises
are indescribable. It sounds as though the Castle had a thunder-storm
in its interior, and to those noises of elemental war add the sounds of
several steamboats letting off steam, and we can form some idea of the
sounds heard during the eruption of the geyser. The entire eruption
lasts about an hour and a half.” (as quoted in N.K.
Anderson, Thomas Moran,
Washington, D.C., 1997, p. 336) Hayden, however, recognized where his
own abilities to capture the scene fell short and Moran’s artistic
talents had to take over, reporting, “In front of the Castle is the
beautiful blue spring, which has been given the fanciful name of
‘Circe’s Boudoir.’ Words must fail to give an idea of the exquisite
beauty of this spring.” (as quoted in Thomas Moran, p. 336)

"The importance of works such as Castle Geyser is thus
manifold. Firstly, they are unrivaled in their technique within the
scope of early American art. More importantly, the period success and
enduring appreciation for Moran’s unique ability to accurately, and
emotionally, convey the awesomeness of these American natural
landmarks, is confirmed by their impact on our nation’s land
preservation policies. Admired by sophisticated patrons of his day, and
broadly reproduced and consumed by a vast audience of fascinated
Americans, both then and now, Moran’s direct impressions recorded from
his explorations of Yellowstone remain one of the most historically
significant and visually compelling series of American Art."

The lot has an estimate of $300,000 to $500,000. It sold for $300,000.

Lot 31 is a good, large oil on
canvas by Moran of "Zion Valley" in Utah. It measures 22 1/8 by
42 1/8 inches and was painted in 1914.

The catalogue entry provides the following commentary:

"Zion
Valley, South Utah manifests the profound veneration and wonder
that Thomas Moran harbored for the Western American landscape. In doing
so, it represents the best of Moran’s efforts at designing an
awe-inspiring image that captures the unique character and grandeur of
the natural formations at Zion National Park. The Southwest is a
landscape inextricably linked with American's national heritage, and
Moran's depictions of this region have been celebrated for over a
century for their ability to transcend simply beautiful artistic
reproductions, stirring within their viewer an intense emotional
appreciation for his subject.

"Following his first trip West to Yellowstone with Ferdinand V. Hayden
in 1871, Moran next set out in 1873, joining Major John Wesley Powell’s
survey of the Southwest. Powell had already captivated American
audiences when he led a small group of men through the treacherous
waters of the Colorado River, winding his way through a grand landscape
that sounded as if it could rival that of the Yellowstone region. With
Powell’s invitation to join his next expedition, Moran saw a unique
opportunity to build upon his fast-developing popularity and,
specifically, to compile material for a pendant painting to join his
massive Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone(Smithsonian American Art
Museum, Lent by the Department of the Interior Museum, Washington,
D.C.), which Congress had purchased for the Capitol.

"Travelling overland with a newspaper correspondent as companion, Moran
ventured southward from the Salt Lake City area through territory that
had already been settled by followers of the Mormon faith, towards the
canyon lands of Southwestern Utah and Northwestern Arizona.
Periodically stopping along the way, the pair eventually arrived in the
valley encompassing Toquerville before pushing eastward to the
settlements of Virgin, Grafton, Rockville and finally Springdale, where
they happened on the scene depicted in Zion Valley, South Utah.
Moran made several sketches of the valley through which the Rio Virgin
ran, known by local tribes as Mukuntuweap and located at the mouth of
Zion Canyon, before travelling onwards to meet Major Powell in Kanab,
Utah, and eventually set his eyes on the Grand Canyon of the Colorado
River for the first time.

"However, Moran was immediately captivated by the unique and dramatic
light, color and topography of Utah, which he would never forget.
Writing some years later, he reported, “Southern Utah is where Nature
reveals herself in all her tumultuous and awe-inspiring grandeur…There
is a ca˝on off the Rio Virgin known in the local Indian vernacular as
Mu-Koun-Tu-Weap, that for glory of scenery and stupendous scenic
effects cannot be surpassed. Its cliffs rise up in rugged massiveness
for 5000 feet, with some of the most peculiar formations believable
toward the top. It is a marvelous piece of Nature's handiwork that is
worth going a long distance to see. I think southern Utah is
unsurpassed in the class of scenery that characterizes it.” (as quoted
in G. Lindstrom, Thomas Moran in Utah, Logan, Utah, 1983, p. 5)
Taking up the Zion subject in earnest once back in his New England
studio, Moran completed a number of watercolors of the area,
including Valley of the Babbling Waters, which would become widely
circulated in the famous chromolithographic series of Louis Prang. In
addition to finding his source material for the present work, this
expedition to the Southwest proved crucial to Moran’s career and
provided eye-opening reference for a lifetime of painting.

"As evidenced in Zion Valley, South Utah, the unique topography of
the land lent itself particularly well to Moran’s style of painting.
Here, Moran presents in rare large-scale an awe-inspiring scene of one
of Utah’s most breathtaking panoramas, rendering the spectacular
expanse of cathedral-like cliffs that buttress the lush Rio Virgin
valley and define the Zion area. Unlike Moran’s other celebrated images
of the canyon lands of Southern Utah and Northern Arizona, Moran does
not choose as his vantage point a place high above his vast subject.
Instead, as in his most accomplished views of Green River, Wyoming, the
painter utilizes a low angle to convey reverence. Throughout, there is
a dramatic play of light and shadow on the fantastic natural forms,
with a variegated paint surface that conveys the dry desert sand of the
hillside at left, the rough fašades of the buttes and coarse branches
of the shrubs surrounding the river. To further capture the unique
texture and light of the environment, Moran utilizes color modulations
in richly painted and drastically varying hues of yellow, pink, orange,
green and blue. The fiery cliff face of the leftmost feature, likely
Mount Kinesava or the West Temple, is dramatically set against a
crystalline sky that further magnifies its majesty. By contrast, the
central and right portion of the vista, likely the East Temple and the
Watchman, is silhouetted against approaching clouds that emanate from
the depths of Zion Canyon. The entire landscape is suffused with
saturated, atmospheric light, which enhances the scene’s vast
ruggedness and grandeur.

"The success of Moran’s abilities as an artist are evident here, as is
his ability to capture the imagination of his public audience by
conveying the splendor of the American landscape. As such, Zion
Valley, South Utah joins Moran’s accomplished paintings of
numerous other celebrated places throughout the West. In addition to
the present work, at this time Moran explored a series of unique
locales outside of his norm, apparently deeming them important for his
viewers to gain exposure to, including the Devil’s Tower, Wyoming;
Index Peak, Wyoming; the Pueblos of Acoma and Laguna, New Mexico; and
the Garden of the Gods, Colorado. By establishing so greatly the
importance of such subjects through his majestic depictions, Moran
undoubtedly contributed to a broad appreciation that was central to
conservation and preservation efforts in early 19th century America. In
fact, years after Moran’s initial visit to Southern Utah, and his
subsequent success in disseminating his imagery of the Southwestern
landscape throughout the country, President William Howard Taft created
the Mukuntuweap National Monument in July 1909. Within a few years, the
old dirt trails and wagon roads that the painter had initially relied
upon to traverse the area had turned in to gravel roads, which were
increasingly popular amongst tourists. A decade later, in 1919, the
Monument was expanded and renamed Zion National Park, the first of its
kind in the state of Utah. By 1923, the Union Pacific Railroad, whose
many promotions had been graced by Moran’s images, established a
terminus north of Zion at Cedar City, and eventually the path that
Moran had likely walked in the 1870s was expanded to accommodate
automobiles. Undoubtedly the popularity of locales like Zion, and
specifically the valley depicted in Zion Valley, South Utah, were
the direct result of Moran’s efforts to share the unique landscape of
the Southwest with a vast American audience, whether through the
auspices of railroad promotion or over a fifty year period as a fine
artist.

"Moran's landscape paintings, particularly those of the Southwest, are
treasures in our cultural history, having conveyed the grandeur of an
entire region to the American public for generations. As Carol Clark
writes, "Moran's western canvases and watercolors depicted areas of
great significance to the American public; they conferred historical
legitimacy to a land lacking human associations and presented a stage
for the unfolding drama of a nation's future…As America viewed her
land, especially the West, as part of a natural historical past
destined to determine a great future, Americans began to accept
landscape painting in oil and watercolor as an integral and formative
element of this destiny.” (Thomas Moran: Watercolors of the American
West, Austin, Texas, 1980, p. 35) It was the finest accomplishment of
Moran's career that, through works such as Zion Valley, South
Utah, he transformed the appreciation of art and the allure of the West
into an integral part of the American identity."

The lot as an estimate of $2,000,000 to $3,000,000. It sold for $2,052,500.

Lot
31 is a watercolor, gouache and pencil on paper by Moran of the "Upper
Falls of the Yellowstone." It measures 12 3/4 by 10 inches and
was painted in 1873.

The catalogue entry
provides the following commentary:

"After travelling to Yellowstone in 1867, James Dunlevy wrote of the
then largely unexplored area, “Tall spires of colossal grandeur which
in beauty and symmetry are superior to any works of art; beetling
cliffs of rock…turreted like castles and rolling away off in beautiful
white pyramidal forms, were to be seen on every side. Language is not
adequate to convey an idea of the marvelous beauty of the scenery,
which is beyond the power of descriptions, and begets a wonderful
fascination in the mind of the beholder who reverently gazes at the
snow crowned summits, that seem as if ‘they were to show how earth may
pierce to Heaven and leave vain man below.’…We trust ere long some
select party, well prepared and equipped, will be able to penetrate
these wilds and reveal to the world its manifest beauties, existing as
they do in all their pristine grandeur.” (as quoted in J.L.
Kinsey, Thomas Moran and the Surveying of the American West,
Washington, D.C., 1992, p. 47)

"No more mysterious or wonderful a place could have been described to
stimulate intense interest from the American public, and no greater
challenge could have been issued for an enterprising young painter
looking to make a name for himself. Inspired by such accounts, in 1871
Thomas Moran secured sponsorship to set out for Virginia City, Montana,
to join the United States Geological Survey of Dr. Ferdinand V. Hayden.
Traveling by horseback through Southern Montana and Northeastern
Wyoming, the expedition explored spectacular natural wonders, including
the Upper and Lower Falls of the Yellowstone, Yellowstone Lake and,
ultimately, the Upper and Lower Geyser Basins of the Firehole River.
Accompanying the photographer William Henry Jackson, with whom he
frequently worked in a near collaborative manner, Moran often lagged
behind the group, wandering afield to dash off sketches of these
magical places. The painter was particularly inspired by the Falls of
the Yellowstone area, where the pair lingered behind for at least four
days, prompting Jackson to later report: “Moran’s enthusiasm was
greater here than anywhere else.” (as quoted in T. Wilkins, Thomas
Moran: Artist of the Mountains, Norman, Oklahoma, 1966, p. 91)

"Moran raced home with the spoils of his trip to set about creating
finished compositions in his East Coast studio. The hurried field
studies that he had completed in Yellowstone, often with little detail
other than contour lines and numerous annotations, together with
Jackson’s photographs, provided the artist with reference for some of
his most accomplished paintings. Moran would rely on these materials,
as well as his powerful memory of the experience, over the course of
his long career. Moran later reflected, “Since that time, I have
wandered over a good part of the Territories and have seen much of the
varied scenery of the Far West, but that of the Yellowstone retains its
hold upon my imagination with a vividness as of yesterday…The
impression then made upon me by the stupendous and remarkable
manifestations of nature’s forces will remain with me as long as memory
lasts.” (as quoted in C. Clark, Explorers of the West, Salt Lake
City, Utah, 1997, p. 27)

"Created just two years after Moran’s inspiring first trip to the
area, Upper Falls of the
Yellowstone represents
the artist at his best, characterized by precise renderings of
topography and extremely delicate gradations of tone. Without losing
the integrity of his first-hand observation, in the present work Moran
renders a wide range of effects that instill upon his viewer, then as
today, the intense spectacle of his subject. Utilizing subtle washes
and intensely varying tones, Moran establishes the textures of his
scene. The earth, water and sky are carefully set against each other in
alternating areas of light and dark in deep, warm burgundy and soft,
cold cerulean. Amidst the clear light, plumes of mist, as fresh and
cool as the blues with which Moran painted, seem to descend upon the
viewer, just as they descend upon the figure in the foreground. This
creel-laden fisherman not only lends scale to the composition, but also
presents a further means by which the viewer enters the artist’s
world.

"Moran’s achievement with the Yellowstone subject was almost
immediately recognized and indeed was instrumental in Congress’
decision to make the area America’s first National Park. "Years later
William Henry Jackson wrote that during the Yellowstone debate 'the
watercolors of Thomas Moran and the photographs of the Geology Survey
[Jackson's] were the most important exhibits brought before the
Committee'…'They did a work which no other agency could do and
doubtless convinced everyone who saw them that the regions where such
wonders existed should be carefully preserved for the people forever.'"
(N.K. Anderson, Thomas Moran, Washington, D.C., 1997, p. 53) In
addition, private collectors were keen to obtain examples of what were
quickly becoming the most sought after works of art in America. Chief
among these was English industrialist William Blackmore, who
commissioned a series of Yellowstone watercolors in 1872 that were
described as “the most brilliant and poetic pictures that have been
done in America thus far.” (as quoted in Thomas Moran, p. 74) One
of the Blackmore commissions, The
Upper Falls of the Yellowstone
(Thomas Gilcrease Museum, Tulsa, Oklahoma), is strikingly similar to
the present work, which was likely executed for a similar commission.

"Beyond private collectors of the original paintings, Moran’s striking
images of Yellowstone appeared in several periodicals and special
publications. For example, Picturesque America, focusing on
little-known natural wonders of America, published a woodblock print
related to Moran’s paintings of the Upper Falls, and a series of
fifteen chromolithographs adapted from his watercolors were published
in 1876 by Louis Prang. As a result, Moran’s early Yellowstone imagery
served as a turning point in the artist’s career and firmly established
him as one of the most celebrated artists in America. Demonstrating
Moran’s mastery of light, color and composition as well as his ability
to capture the spirit and essence of the Western landscape, Upper
Falls of the Yellowstone possesses all the best qualities of this
seminal 1870s series, which ranks amongst the most important early
contributions to both environmental conservation and the cultural
patrimony of our nation."

The lot has an estimate of $500,000 to $700,000. It sold for $1,188,500.

Moran
was often referred to as the American Turner because many of his
Venetian scenes reminded people of the spectacular work of
Turner. Lot 43, "Venice," is a small oil on canvas by Moran that
measures 14 by 20 inches. It was painted in 1896.

The catalogue entry provides
the following commentary:

In May 1886 Thomas Moran
traveled to Venice for the first time. A popular subject of interest
and nostalgia in the late nineteenth century, Venice was certainly
already a familiar place for Moran through the writings of Lord Byron
and John Ruskin and depictions by J.M.W. Turner. Nonetheless, he was
amazed by the splendor of the place, writing to his wife Mary, "Venice
is all, and more, than travelers have reported of it. It is wonderful.
I shall make no attempt at description..." (as quoted in N.K.
Anderson, et al., Thomas Moran, New Haven, Connecticut, 1997,
p. 122) Upon his return, Moran immediately set to work on studio oils,
and, from that point forward, he submitted a Venetian scene almost
every year he exhibited at the National Academy. "The subject became
his 'best seller.'" (Thomas Moran, p. 123)

Lot 15 is a good oil on canvas by Norman Rockwell (1894-1978)
entitled "What Makes It Tick? (The Watchmaker)." It measures 26
1/4 by 26 inches and was painted in 1948.The catalogue essay provides the following
commentary:

"Norman Rockwell stated,
“One of my best, I think,” in his autobiographical book The Norman Rockwell Album (New
York, 1961, p. 112) of his painting The Watchmaker painted in 1948
as a commission from The
Watchmakers of Switzerland, now known as the Federation of Swiss
Watchmakers. The Swiss firm was seeking a marketing campaign that could
elevate their brand globally, and they needed an artist who could
generate maximum impact in a single image. Rockwell, at the height of
his fame, fit the bill. As America's preeminent illustrator, Rockwell
was one of the greatest mass communicators of the century. Painting a
sweeping range of topics during a century of extensive technological
and social change, he helped forge a sense of national identity through
his art. Rockwell was witness to the height of Impressionism as well as
the development of Cubism, Surrealism and Abstract Expressionism. He
traveled to Europe to study the art of Pablo Picasso and he was aware
of the move toward Modernism in America by Jackson Pollock and Mark
Rothko, among others. Despite the trends of the day, however, Rockwell
chose to pursue a career as an illustrator, producing more than 800
magazine covers. In doing so, Rockwell became as ubiquitous to the
American public as the images he created.

"In addition to Rockwell’s countless Saturday Evening Post covers,
he was highly sought after for story illustrations and advertisements.
Virginia Mecklenburg notes that, during the post-War era, Rockwell’s
“advertising commissions picked up…when corporations recognized that
his images were especially appropriate for lifestyle advertising that
associated a product with an activity or experience rather than
providing specific information about the goods being sold.” (Telling
Stories: Norman Rockwell from the Collections of George Lucas and
Steven Spielberg,
New York, 2010, p. 127) The commission on behalf of The Watchmakers of
Switzerland was particularly high profile as the image was to be
advertised over a period of many years in
the Post and Life magazine,
as well as to be displayed in jewelry stores internationally. Rockwell
ultimately created two paintings for The Watchmakers of Switzerland,
the present work and The Jewelry Shop of 1954.

"While Rockwell’s commissioned work differed from his covers of
the Post in
meeting more specific needs, his approach to his subject was distinctly
his own and Rockwell never strayed from his own underlying themes and
artistic principles. This is perhaps nowhere more evident than in The Watchmaker,
whose subject bore a deep personal connection to Rockwell. As Laura
Claridge notes, "John Rockwell's father and mother—Norman's
great-grandparents—were Samuel and Oril Sherman Rockwell. Born in 1810
to well-to-do farmers in Ridgebury, Connecticut...Samuel was
apprenticed when he was fifteen years old to a watchmaker and jeweler
in Manhattan. After twelve years of applying 'more than ordinary
natural aptitude for the business,' the twenty-seven-year-old man
bought the modest establishment and developed it into a 'flourishing
and profitable business.'...Samuel Rockwell worked so hard that he was
soon able to sell his watch shop in 'the crowded city' of New York to
establish a real estate business in the 'pure air' of Yonkers.” (Norman
Rockwell,
New York, 2001, n.p.) This family history would have likely provided a
meaningful backdrop to the artist’s conception of the work.

"Beyond reflecting the artist’s own specific upbringing, The Watchmaker also
embodies a more universal theme Rockwell consistently explored
throughout his career—the passage of time. The same year the present
work was painted, Rockwell embarked on a series of seasonal images to
be published as calendars for Brown & Bigelow. The imagery most
often featured a young boy and his grandfather or a boy and his father,
the elder of the two imparting valuable wisdom and life lessons to the
young pupil. Mecklenburg writes, “In 1948, Rockwell proposed a calendar
series featuring images of the four seasons of the year to Brown &
Bigelow, the company that produced his Boy Scout Calendars. With the
seasonal calendars, he returned to themes about the passage of time
that had occupied him during his early years at the Post. In
revisiting
the motif in the late 1940s and 1950s, Rockwell approached the idea not
from the perspective of a twenty-something but as a man in his fifties.
The conception was Rockwell’s own. He wanted, he said, ‘to mirror the
average person…leading our kind of life during each of the four seasons
of the year,’ adding, ‘I prefer painting either the very old or the
very young because they remain strictly themselves; neither type wants
to pretty up.” (Telling Stories, p. 151) This theme of the passage of
time is echoed in The Watchmaker.
Rockwell depicts an earnest young boy mesmerized by a wizened old man.
The boy’s face is pressed against the glass as he observes the
watchmaker ply his craft, while the watchmaker is deep in concentration
as he carefully makes adjustments to the interior mechanics of the
boy’s watch.

"Rockwell’s work is also often autobiographical. This can be at times
literally, such as with his iconic Triple Self Portrait of
1960 (Norman Rockwell Art Collection Trust), or figuratively when small
clues suggest that Rockwell in some way identifies with his subjects.
In the present work, the watchmaker can be interpreted as an avatar for
Rockwell, whose own meticulous craft required fine tools and expert
attention to detail. Rockwell labored extensively over every detail in
his imagery, ensuring that the sum of the parts equals and betters the
whole. In this way, the fine and delicate tool the watchmaker is using
to examine the watch could be a synonym for the small paintbrush that
Rockwell employed to achieve the mesmerizing surface of the painting.
When the advertisement ran in the magazines, the copy underneath the
image underscored this notion, reading: “When you listen to your watch,
it speaks not only of the passing of the seconds but of the skills of
all of the men whose efforts have gone into its perfection.”

"This
underlying symbolism within the work perhaps derives from Rockwell’s
deep familiarity with Old Master paintings and his delight in touting
this understanding of art historical precedent in his compositions.
This intellectual aspect of his work can be seen most overtly in
paintings such as The Art Critic (Norman
Rockwell Museum Collection)
but also in more subtle ways, which manifest themselves in his studied
compositions. Both the imagery and the meticulous manner of execution
found in The Watchmaker can be seen as successor to
Renaissance paintings, such as Petrus Christus’ A Goldsmith in His Shop (1449,
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York), where the artists have
relished demonstrating their technical mastery in depicting a profusion
of textures. The interior of the watchmaker’s shop afforded Rockwell a
platform from which to highlight these skills. The depiction of
glass—perhaps the hardest, most elusive surface to replicate—is here
used to expert effect. The warm and subtle light from the lantern
overhead also delicately bathes the surface, illuminating flecks of
gold from the watches as well as the glint of the watchmaker’s glasses.
As the eye dances from one part of the composition to the next, the
myriad details are astounding.

"To create the intricacy of The
Watchmaker,
Rockwell took a series of preparatory photographs, a technique he
adopted in the 1940s. Rather than isolating his figure or figures
against a blank background, as he had done before, he began to paint
fully realized and often quite elaborate backgrounds in his best works
from this period. In order to achieve the desired effect, Rockwell no
longer relied solely upon professional models, enlisting them for hours
on end, as he had done in his early years in New Rochelle. Rather, upon
his move to Arlington, he began to incorporate photography into his
creative process. This method meant he could stage elaborate tableaus
as subjects and capture the various expressions of his sitters in an
instant. Rarely satisfied with a single photograph, the finished
illustration was often a composite of many. David Kamp writes of this
exhaustive creative system, “First came brainstorming and a rough
pencil sketch, then the casting of the models and the hiring of
costumes and props, then the process of coaxing the right poses out of
the models, then the snapping of the photo, then the composition of a
fully detailed charcoal sketch, then a painted color sketch that was
the exact size of the picture as it would be reproduced, and then, and
only then, the final painting.”("Norman Rockwell's American
Dream," Vanity Fair, November 2009, p. 5)This
new approach, coupled with towns around the country full of fresh faces
willing to pose for the celebrity artist, meant a flurry of artistic
inspiration.

"Rockwell painted The Watchmaker in
a small hotel room with dim light. Armed with several preparatory
photographs of both the central characters, as well as the glass store
front of the jewelry store, he painstakingly recreated the sanctuary of
the elderly watchmaker honing his craft. Laura Claridge writes:
“Throughout the spring and summer of 1948, Rockwell worked on several
ads, including a first-rate oil painting for The Watchmakers of
Switzerland. An old watch repairman is meticulously rendered, from his
wrinkled, crepey hands, to his overgrown eyebrows…The crowded pictorial
space of the work points to what will be a hallmark of Rockwell’s
remarkable achievements in the next decade for the Post. In the
ad, the
total effect dramatically exceeds what corporations were accustomed to
getting from the commercial artists they paid.” (Norman
Rockwell: A Life,
New York, 2001, p. 350) Through this consistent high level of execution
throughout the room, Rockwell creates what Karal Ann Marling has
described as “a kind of ‘Magical Realism,’” where the viewer’s eye can
constantly move from object to object and experience every segment with
“the same degree of intensity.” (Norman Rockwell: America's Most
Beloved Painter,
Cologne, Germany, 2005, p. 70) A similar effect has been experimented
with in film. Todd McCarthy explains, “In cinematography [it] is called
‘deep focus,’ in which foreground and background objects possess an
equal clarity, producing an effect that is sometimes hyper-realistic.
This approach came into vogue in Hollywood in the early 1940s, due
especially to the adventurous creativity of cinematographer Gregg
Toland on William Wyler’s Little Foxes and Orson
Welles’ Citizen Kane.” (in V.M. Mecklenburg, Telling Stories:
Norman Rockwell from the Collections of George Lucas and Steven
Spielberg, p. 207)

"Also
as in the often idealized world of the movies, Norman Rockwell's work
has been characterized as a reflection of our better selves, capturing
America as it ought to be. His work is often viewed as both of a moment
and simultaneously timeless, in its communication of the universal
truths of human nature. "In the twentieth century, visual imagery
permeated American culture, ultimately becoming the primary means of
communication. Rockwell's images have become part of a collective
American memory. We remember selective bits and pieces of information
and often reassemble them in ways that mingle fantasy with reality. We
formulate memory to serve our own needs and purposes. Rockwell knew
this instinctively: 'Everything I have ever seen or done has gone into
my pictures in one way or another...Memory doesn't lie, though it may
distort a bit here and there.'" (M.H. Hennessey, A.
Knutson, Norman Rockwell: Pictures for the American People,
exhibition catalogue, Atlanta, Georgia, 1999, p. 64) Indeed, Laurie
Norton Moffatt writes, "His images convey our human shortcomings as
well as our national ideals of freedom, democracy, equality, tolerance
and common decency in ways that nobody could understand. He has become
an American institution. Steven Spielberg recently said, 'Aside from
being an astonishingly good storyteller, Rockwell spoke volumes about a
certain kind of American morality.' It is a morality based on popular
values and patriotism, a morality that yearns above all for goodness to
trump evil." ("The People's Painter," Norman Rockwell: Pictures
for the American People, New York, 1999, p. 26)

"In his autobiography My
Adventures as an Illustrator,
Norman Rockwell reminisced of his early career ambitions, “In those
days the cover of the Post was (it still is, by the way) the
greatest show window in America for an illustrator.” (Norman Rockwell:
My Adventures as an Illustrator as told to Tom Rockwell,
New York, 1979, p. 63) Beginning with his first cover published in 1916
and continuing through 1963, Rockwell entered American homes through
321 covers of The Saturday
Evening Post over the course of his career as the nation’s
leading illustrator. The
Watchmaker,
which literally depicts a shop window, exhibits the pinnacle of
Rockwell’s achievement as a realist painter, compositional master and
American storyteller. Drawing inspiration spanning the history of
European and American art, and staking a case for his own position as a
fine artist in the post-War era, The
Watchmaker encases an exquisite
range of detail and allusions for the inquisitive eye, while also
presenting an image of youthful wonder and idealism contrasted with
sage wisdom and expertise."

The lot has an estimate of $4,000,000 to $6,000,000. It sold for $7,287,500.

Lot 44 is a very nice New
England landscape by Frederic Edwin Church (1826-1900) that was painted
in 1854, An oil on canvas, it measures 30 by 42 inches. It
has an estimate of $1,000,000 to $1,500,000. It sold for $1,812,500.

The catalogue entry provides the following commentary:

"A true artist-explorer,
Frederic Edwin Church traveled the globe to invigorate his artistic
career. While he eventually settled at Olana in upstate New York, his
numerous journeys allowed him to catalogue within his memory and
sketchbooks environmental details from across New England and from as
far-flung locales as the tropical lands of South America and Jamaica,
the foreboding icebergs of the Arctic and the ancient cities of Europe
and the Middle East. On each trip, Church recorded the local flora,
topography and atmosphere with astonishing detail, which upon his
return to the studio would be incorporated into tremendous sublime
renderings that capture the true feeling of a place, if not one exact
location. Painted directly after his return from his first trip to
Colombia and Ecuador in 1853, A New England Lake reveals the
artist at a critical moment of his career on the verge of mass
celebrity. At once embodying the essence of his beloved New England
region yet also reflecting the atmosphere of the newly experienced
South American tropics, A New England Lake demonstrates how
Church’s worldly wanderlust spirit inspired him to develop his unique,
transcendent vision of the American landscape.

"In the present work, Church integrates imagery from the mountains and
lakes of Vermont and Maine into a magnificent panorama of placid waters
and fertile forests under hazy, distant peaks and a dramatic, colorful
sky. Perhaps particularly inspired by Bigelow Mountain in Maine, the
vista resembles a sketch of that location from August 1852 in the
collection of the Olana State Historic Site. As praised by a reviewer
when A New England Lake was exhibited at the National Academy
of Design in 1854, “The lake is a precious little bit of water, lying
in the immediate foreground, the fading (sun setting) light softly
toned away into deepening shadow…A boat containing a single figure is
gliding quietly in the semi-obscurity. A point of finely wooded land
juts out into the lake from the left, with cows standing on the sandy
shore and in the water. In the background are bold and characteristic
mountains. In the middle ground, which descends abruptly to the wooded
margin of the lake, are pasture fields and patches of wood. The clouds
and skies are in the artist’s usual style--the former pretty highly
tinted. The reflections of the water, and the water itself, are
fine--about as good as we should fancy possible to art. The sentiment
of the picture is of mingled quiet, solitude and sublimity.” ("Academy
of Design," The Evening Mirror, New York, April 18, 1854, p.
2)

"Indeed, as in the best of Church’s work, the thoughtful placement of
man within a quiet yet dynamic environment of land, water and sky
invites the viewer to join Church within his peaceful perception of
American scenery. The glowing pink clouds set amidst the bright blue
expanse of sunny sky spark musings on the awesomeness of nature. Gerald
Carr reflects, "Church bids his viewers to linger with his painted
re-creations, and, by extension, to linger with him. Taking the viewer,
as it were, by his hand, giving him the vast expanses in which to roam,
he enjoins him to perambulate, probe, and ponder. He highlights
figures, human-made objects, animals, and individual and clustered
natural features...Clothing his distances with tangible, breathable
atmosphere, he devises lighting effects intense, subtle, supple, and
steady. He gives trademark prominence to his skies. At length, after
the beholder has turned away, Church entreats an escorted return
visit." (In Search of the Promised Land: Paintings by Frederic Edwin
Church, exhibition catalogue, New York, 2000, p. 20)

"In A New England Lake,
this ‘tangible, breathable atmosphere’ largely derives from Church
combining the features of his classic American landscape compositions
with the new type of humidity and sunlight he experienced while in
South America. As Franklin Kelly explains of the artist’s records and
sketches from his first exploration in 1853, “With Humboldtian
precision he noted the different types of animals and foliage, but
sometimes the broader views melded North and South in his mind. As he
wrote to his sister: ‘…in some places [it] might resemble New England
were it not for the tropical foliage.’” (Frederic Edwin Church and the
National Landscape, Washington, D.C., 1988, p. 75) This contemplation
of the similarities between the environments was manifested in his
artwork upon his return back home. For example, perhaps it is not
solely coincidence that the trees and peninsular outcropping at the
center of A New England Lake seem
to mirror the left side of a graphite etching from the banks of the
River Magdalena in Colombia known as Tropical Lagoon (Olana
State Historic Site, Hudson, New York).

"In addition to possible specific inspirations from sketches executed
overseas, the overall sense of light and drama in the present work
seems to foreshadow Church’s South American works of the next years,
which would gain him a global reputation. In fact, Carr suggests that
the intense, glowing white light grazing the tree tops at right
anticipates the bold sun at the center of The Andes of
Ecuador (1855, Reynolda House Museum of American Art,
Winston-Salem, North Carolina), while Kelly posits that La
Magdalena (1854, private collection), submitted to the National
Academy the following year, is almost a tropical version of A New
England Lake. As in A Country Home (1854, Seattle Art Museum,
Seattle, Washington), Church’s other 1854 submission to the Academy,
“An indelible South American tone also permeates A New England
Lake. The sky is much like that in A Country Home, but with an
even greater sense of moist, glowing atmosphere that makes works such
as Home by the Lake of 1852 seem almost airless in
comparison. The mingling of northern and southern characteristics
apparent in Church's writings and sketches from his 1853 trip was
carried over into his finished paintings…He had seen a new world and a
different landscape, and this was causing him to look with different
eyes at the familiar territory of North America.” (Frederic Edwin
Church and the National Landscape, p. 77)

"Executed during this momentous turning point in his career, A New England Lake represents
the culmination of Church’s early years perfecting his notion of New
England topography, but also a pivotal change in style integrating the
more dramatic light and aura which would create his blockbuster works
of the following years, such as Heart of the Andes (1859, The
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York). Combining the discoveries from
his first worldly travels with his years of experience in his more
immediate New England environment, in A New England Lake,
“What Church had managed to elevate was the very substance of everyday
American life, a feat no other landscape painter of his era could
equal." (Frederic Edwin Church and the National Landscape, p. 77)."

"Albert Bierstadt's majestic
depictions of the American West are the artist's highest regarded works
and rank among the most triumphant accomplishments in
nineteenth-century American art. Beginning in 1859, Bierstadt made
multiple journeys from the East Coast to the far reaches of the Western
frontier in search of a pure landscape untouched by human presence.
While the artist traveled West well after the first explorers, his art
offered “visual confirmation of the alpine peaks, enormous trees, and
stunning valleys they had described with all the exclamation words
would allow.” (N.K. Anderson, Albert
Bierstadt: Art and Enterprise,
New York, 1991, p. 79) For American collectors of his time, Bierstadt's
works came to typify the wilderness experience, and as summarized by
Gerald Carr, “Bierstadt was among the most energetic, industrious, and
internationally honored American artists of the nineteenth century.” (American Paradise: The World of the Hudson
River School, New York, 1987, p. 284)

"Bierstadt visited as far as California for the first time in 1863,
when he spent a month in Yosemite Valley before returning to his New
York studio. Over the next several decades, he returned to the state as
a source of considerable artistic inspiration, creating some of his
most monumental and majestic canvases; however, it may not have been
until the summer of 1880 in which he made his way to Clear Lake.
Located North of Napa County, it is the largest freshwater lake in
California and may be the oldest natural lake in North America. It was,
and still is today, a popular fishing destination known for its
abundance of bass.

"Clear Lake, painted circa 1881, was inspired by his visit to
this region and depicts the crystalline surface of the lake bathed in a
warm sunlit glow. The scene is framed by autumnal trees, likely a feat
of artistic license to add more vibrant color to his composition. A
patch of meadow, painted in warm tones of green and yellow and dotted
with granite boulders emerging from the ground, is illuminated by the
high, late afternoon sun. The mountains, with their rocky facades
alternately in light and shadow, glimmer in the distance.

"Clear Lake is evocative of Bierstadt’s landscapes on a monumental
scale, which immerse the viewer into the pristine, magnificent
landscape. His synthesis of the wide open expanses and the finely
detailed, almost intimate passages of landscape places his work among
the most successful expressions of the many paradoxes of nature. This
expression, through Bierstadt's attention to detail and evocation of
light, harmoniously brings together the spiritual and natural world.
Like no artist before him, Bierstadt established himself as the
pre-eminent painter with both the technique and the talent to convey
the powerful visual impact of the Western landscape, to capture the
mammoth scale of the open spaces and to begin to interpret this new
American landscape in a manner equal to its majesty and grandeur.

"In summarizing Bierstadt's achievement, Gordon Hendricks wrote that
"his successes envelop us with the beauty of nature, its sunlight, its
greenness, its mists, its subtle shades, its marvelous freshness. All
of these Bierstadt felt deeply. Often he was able, with the struggle
that every artist knows, to put his feelings on canvas. When he
succeeded in what he was trying to do--to pass along some of his own
passion for the wildness and beauty of the new West--he was as good as
any landscapist in the history of American art." (Albert Bierstadt: Painter of the American
West, New York, 1973, p. 10)."

The lot has an estimate of $500,000 to $700,000. It sold for $552,500.

The Jewish Museum of
American Art last year held a major exhibition on Florinne Stettheimer
and the large paintings included is in this auction, "Portrait of
Marcel Duchamp and Rrose SÚlavy." It shows
Duchamp sitting in an armchair embroidered with his
initials, working a crank that sends aloft on a mechanical spring his
female alter ego, SÚlavy, in a pink outfit. The painting has a unusual
frame which is gray with Duchamp’s initials repeated all
around it. Duchamp
sppears in other paintings by Stettheimer and she referred to him as
"Ducheand Stettheimer shared a long friendship, and he figures in a
number of
her paintings, and he organized a posthumous retrospective of her in
1946 at the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

The
lot has an estimate of $1,000,000 to $1,500,000, about 10 times what it
was acquired for in 1990 at Sotheby's when it was sold by the estate of
Virgil Thompson, whose oper, "Four Saints in Three Acts" (1928) had
stage designs by costumes created by Stettheimer and a libretto by
Gertrude Stein.

It failed to sell.

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